Pages

Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Love and marriage, cake and crochet – it all just kinda makes sense, doesn't it?

So I'm breezing back in with another ta-da moment, this time something completely new. Back in January I was given the most beautiful little skein of blue Namolio linen thread (if you've never stitched with it, you need to get yours hands on some!) and commissioned to design some wedding cake toppers for Simply Crochet magazine. The theme was a burlap and lace look wedding decor set-up to chime in with the royal wedding excitement this spring.

It was a perfect fit as I'd actually been pondering designing cake toppers for To Be Adorned. Right away I imagined a trio of little lacy crochet hearts on stalks, topping an icing-slathered cake. Cue some fun experimenting with my trusty 3mm hook, and this is what I came up with!

That Namolio thread blocks like an absolute dream, and check out those tiny picots!

Needless to say, I'm over the moon with how the team styled and photographed the whole collection (the other designers whipped up the loveliest wedding decoration bits), but have all the heart eyes for this shot. Want a closer look?

The pattern for my crochet heart wedding cake toppers is inSimply Crochet issue 70, out now! I kinda wish I'd made these for our wedding, though the pompom garland was a winner on the day. I'm also a huge fan of the really kitsch retro ones too. Are cake toppers your thing?

Thursday, 22 March 2018

My wedding garters and bridal sashes for To Be Adorned are out in the wild and I'm pleased as punch. Have you ever felt that warm glow of pride in your chest that makes your eyes shine?

It sparked up big time when I received these beautiful pictures that Bristol photographer Lesley Mayfield shot for this collection. But maybe I should start at the beginning?

Alongside my editorial day job at Mollie Makes, my head and hands are busy with my beloved To Be Adorned side hustle. I dream up and create colourful, vintage-flavoured accessories, then pop them up in my Etsy shop and take to social media to spread the word. Or, I'm creating quirky custom orders, which is an utter joy.

I've been a little shy about sharing what's going on in the shop in this space, but it's what I spend most of my time making now and I want to share it with you! So, there'll be updates aplenty coming your way, as well as the usual knitty goodness and WIP natter.

The colourful sash belts and crochet garters were things I'd be creating for a little while (I'm all about adding colour wherever you can, especially for weddings), but I knew they needed to be photographed on a model to really show them off. Accessories are made to be worn, loved and danced in, right?

After connecting with lovely photographer Lesley online, we finally fixed a date for a photoshoot. Lucy stepped in as our model for the morning, I sourced a dreamy blush-coloured frock and packed up my crochet pretties and we set about making some magic (see some behind-the-scenes silliness here).

It was nerve-wracking yet totally exhilarating see the ideas I'd imagined actually coming together in reality! The pictures are even more beautiful than I could have hoped (I've shared heaps of them in this post – sorry not sorry) and I've been merrily adding them all to the Etsy store too.

The garters are available in six different colours so far (and I'm open to custom orders), crocheted in fine silk blend yarn, finished with tiny beads and satin or velvet ribbon – a little bit luxe, you might say! And the bridal sashes belts are limited edition as they're made with lace from a vintage wedding gown and I'm currently sourcing some more lace! You can check out the lot in the shop here and find me hanging out on Insta here.

What have you been working on lately? I'd love to hear about your magical 'project finally coming together' moments!

Friday, 9 February 2018

The less said about January the better, right? Moving swiftly on, I thought a cheeky taking stock post would be a good way to catch up on 2018 happenings. Congrats if you make it all the way to the end of the list. Either way, I'd love to know what you're loving and making right now, so let me know!

Making: baby bootees, a new To Be Adornedheaddress and something top secret. Oh, and an embroidery hoop that's very almost done. It's WIP central over here, as per.

Cooking: not cooking exactly, but trying to be dilligent in prepping my overnight oats on school nights.

Drinking: green tea, please.

Reading: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (aloud to Mr P) and Show Your Work by Austin Kleon.

Next read: Any recommendations? I've got a stack of unread EM Forster, so I might start on that.

Thursday, 14 December 2017

I started making this honeycomb hexie blanket what feels like absolute yonks ago and I'm over the moon to be able to share it with you at long last! This is my second ever crochet blanket design and, due to my love of both bees and the colour yellow, it's an instant fave.

After finding the ultimate grellow palette in DROPS' Cotton Merino range, I got hooking. A little bit of maths was required, to figure out how many hexies I'd need in each colour to make one big hexagon. This yarn is an absolute winner - super soft and really good stitch definition. I've been using the leftovers to make cute baby bootees.

Many, many hexies later and the blanket was complete. My favourite bit was creating the little daisies and the bees with their flappy wings! And, not only am I chuffed with it, but pattern is in Simply Crochet issue 65.

I'm hoping to be able to give my finished bee blanket sample to a special new tiny one in the fam soon! Not bad for the last FO of the year, I reckon. What's been your fave 2018 make?

Tuesday, 21 November 2017

Between the day job and my To Be Adorned side hustle, I'm managing to cram in few sneaky rows of knitting here and there. We've moved a little further out of the city centre so my day generally includes a bus journey or two, which is prime stitching time!

As usual, I had grand ideas about all the amazing yarny gifts I was going to make for Christmas gifts this year, but as the end of November is fast-approaching, I'm going to have to swallow the craft guilt, scale it back and make peace with working on with my WIP instead. When you think about it, it is a bit bonkers to feel guilty about your own unrealistic goals that only you knew about anyway. Currently on my needles is a pair of Edith mittens, and while I shouldn't have to justify making something for myself instead of Christmas gifts, I do actually need a pair.

I'm using the leftover red DROPS Nepal yarn from my Miette cardigan (so cosy) to knit these, and am loving the simple lace design. So far I've completed the first mitten, minus the thumb, and am well into the ribbing on the second. All plain sailing, until it got to grafting the top of the mitten together. Knitting socks isn't really my thing and I've never grafted stitches before, so this Purl Bee tutorial on Kitchener stitch came in very handy. I literally couldn't have figured it out otherwise. I'm not quite sure I've nailed it, I think it could be neater. Do you have any tips or good resources for Kitchener stitch?

The other yarn-related news is *drumroll* two of my Simply Crochet designs are now available to buy on Ravelry! My Over the Rainbow ripple crochet blanket and Figgy Pudding festive hat topper patterns are out in the big wide world. While I've added the odd simple design to Ravelry before, this is the first time anything's gone up for sale.

It's been a while since I've chatted yarn here, so I'd love to know what's on your hook / needles right now and what's in your Ravelry queue. Fill me in!

And (full disclosure) along the way there have been tears, very little sleep and a LOT of hard graft. Trying to balance full time work, growing something new and all of life's other commitments has been a whole new kinda challenge. Any and all tips welcome. I have no idea how people do these sorts of things AND raise a family, too. If this is you, you're basically a superhero.

But, having a creative thing that's all my own gives me so much joy, and I've met some amazing people along the way. The real highlights for me have been meeting brides-to-be, dreaming up new designs and working on special custom headdress and wedding garter orders.

I wanted to say a BIG thank you to everyone who's been cheering me on this year (Mr P has been a positive saint), placing orders, sharing pics and saying hello at events - you're the actual best. That's the kinda stuff that keeps me going and helps me quiet those niggling, doubting voices that I think all makers have.

So, if you've been wondered why the blog's been so quiet for a while, it's because I've been hustling elsewhere! I'm planning to start sharing more of what I've been up to in this lovely space again, and in the mean time you can find me 'grammin like a mad thing at @tobeadorned and sharing on Facebook, too - I'd love to see a few more familiar faces cropping up!

To celebrate this exciting first birthday, and also by way of a thank you, I'm throwing a discount party! If you wanna join the To Be Adorned fun and help me celebrate, you can get 10% off absolutely everything in the shop (it's not just wedding stuff) this week with the code BDAYLOVE

Monday, 9 October 2017

When the lovely Julie from Knitted Bliss posted on Instagram that she was in Bristol this summer, I said a quick hello, which resulted in a lunch hour meet-up full of stitchy chat. How often does one of your fave knit bloggers from Canada visit your city, right? It had to be done.

We talked yarn, blogging, Netflix and multitasking over hot bowls of pho, before a quick pit stop in the Simply Crochet/ Simply Knitting office to say hi to the team. Julie was rocking her fresh-off-the-needles Golden Hour jumper (SO pretty) and sent me these pics so I could share a bit of our conversation with you. Thanks Julie! Be sure to check out her Knitted Bliss blog to see what she's been working on lately.

What are you making right now?

I'm knitting two tops at the moment, Rie (from Knitpicks) and Gesture Sweater (from We Are Knitters). They are both completely different, but I'm loving everything about them! Rie is very much outside what I typically knit or wear, so it's a bit more of an experimental knit for me. The Gesture Sweater is something I adore wearing- toasty warm cabled sweaters. I feel like it's going to be my favourite fall sweater.

Have you bought any yarn on your England trip?

I did! I tried to keep it really manageable, I bought a skein of Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles in 'Boombox', which my daughter picked out. She wants me to knit her a little scarf. And I bought two skeins of of La Bien Aimee in 'Interstellar'. Not sure what I'm going to knit with those, but definitely something for myself.

What's been inspiring you at the moment?

The intricacy of the colour grey has been inspiring me recently. It is quickly becoming my favourite colour, because it usually has so much range and depth. Very rare to see a flat grey, and I find that quite interesting. Plus, it goes with pretty much everything, making it such an easy to wear neutral. I've been thinking a lot of what it takes to have handknit classics in one's wardrobe, and colour choice is paramount.

Any new designs coming up?

I have a new design coming in a future installation of Knitty.com, and I'm working on a couple of things that are still hush- hush.

Current guilty pleasure (food, yarn or otherwise)?

When in England, gooseberry yogurt. You can't get that in Canada. When in Canada, Netflix is my guilty pleasure.

Any favourite Bath/ Bristol treasures?

Photographs are my favourite treasures, the way they so perfectly conjure up a fragment of the day. But I also love the little Christmas store in Bath, and letting Lila pick out a new Christmas ornament for the tree. And in Bristol, I love combing the bookshelves of every book store I come across. I like finding new book by authors I haven't heard of before.